The Betrayal: Part I

An R.L. Mathewson Chronicle

New Hampshire

Cayley looked into the incredibly handsome doctor’s eyes for a moment before she slowly nodded and said, “I think we should get a second opinion,” making the man that she’d been counting on to have her back chuckle.

Roger, who was currently the most hated man by the Bradford family and James boys, gently tapped her on the nose with a murmured, “You’re adorable,” only to add more seriously, “and you’re only two centimeters dilated,” with a sympathetic smile as he focused his attention back to his iPad while Cayley lay there, trying not to pout as she shifted her gaze to the large man standing to her right and-

Wow, he looked pissed.

Thankfully, that glare was aimed at Roger and not her, which at the moment, she appreciated since it gave her a moment to put her game face on. With that in mind, Cayley released a shuddering sigh, made sure to look appropriately pathetic as she allowed her bottom lip to quiver, and-

“No,” was all Bryce, her normally incredibly sweet husband that adored her, said as he continued glaring at Roger, which, given what she’d been told, was understandable.

“But-”

“He said you can’t eat anything until after the baby,” Bryce said, making her shoulders slump in defeat as she lay there, unable to help but pout because she’d kind of been hoping that he’d be willing to run down to The Fire House and grab her a cheeseburger with extra cheese, fries, onion rings and a strawberry milkshake to make this better.

“Didn’t he also marry your cousin and abandon her?” Cayley pointed out, only to whisper, “Sorry,” to the man that drove all the way up here at two in the morning to deliver her baby. She wasn’t normally this mean, but in her defense, she was nine months pregnant with a James boy and he refused to let her eat.

“Is there a reason why you’re trying to get my ass kicked?” Roger asked, not bothering to look up from his iPad as he made a note that probably wasn’t going to end well for her.

“Because I’d really like a burger,” Cayley said with a sniffle as she placed her hand on the large swell of her belly as she tried to shift to get more comfortable on the hospital bed, only to immediately regret the move when it caused her baby boy to do that thing to her spine that she really wished that he’d stop doing. That was followed by deciding that she should bury her face against her pillow and struggle to breathe through the pain.

Decision made, Cayley blindly reached out, grabbed hold of her husband’s arm and used her hold to turn over onto her side and bury her face against the pillow. Since she was already there, she decided that it would probably be in her best interest to release that scream that was working its way up her throat as she tightened her hold on her husband’s arm, tearing a muttered curse from him and a really inventive curse from the man that wouldn’t let her eat.

“Forget to tell me something, Cayley?” Roger asked as she felt him gently move her hospital gown up and place his hand over her large belly.

“I-I think my baby boy might be trying to kill me,” she whispered against the pillow when the excruciating pain that was all but guaranteeing that she was never going to have sex again slowly began to disappear.

“And I think it’s time that we had that talk about painkillers,” Roger murmured as he did whatever it was that he was doing.

Sniffling, Cayley mumbled, “He’s angry because you won’t let me eat.”

“Probably,” Roger murmured while she lay there, realizing that she wasn’t mentally prepared for what was about to happen. “How long has this been happening?”

“It started five minutes ago when the man that is never touching me again started glaring,” Cayley mumbled sadly as she released a shuddering sigh and-

“Umm, what’s he doing in here?” Cayley found herself asking as she watched Sean, her best friend and brother-in-law, help himself to her cup of ice chips.

“Wondering what’s taking you so long bringing my godson into the world so that I can hold him,” Sean said, sounding bored as he gestured for her to get on with it.

Narrowing her eyes on the man that should have brought her a burger, Cayley said, “It’s only been six hours.”

Nodding, Sean said, “Six hours that I could have been bonding with my godson,” as he dropped down on the oversized chair that one of the nurses dragged in here earlier for Bryce with a satisfied sigh and another gesture for her to get on with it.

Sighing, Cayley shifted her attention to Bryce as he took Roger’s spot by the bed so that he could hold her hand as she sadly mumbled, “He’s so mean.”

“You knew this, sweetheart,” Bryce said as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

“I know,” she grumbled, following that up with a sniffle.

“Would it make you feel better if I found a supply closet and shoved the little bastard inside?” Bryce asked, following that up by kissing her cheek.

“It really would.” 

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An Excerpt from Pretend: The Neighbor from Hell Prequel

“Kill. Me,” Morgan managed to get out as her grip tightened around the towel that she was hugging against her chest while she prayed that Eric took pity on her and stopped talking before it was too late.

There was a heavy sigh and then…

“How did I fuck up this badly, Morgan?” the man that wouldn’t shut up asked while she lay there wondering why she didn’t leave when she had the chance.

Because she was an idiot, that’s why, Morgan realized when the man that she’d never thought she would see again released another long-suffering sigh, causing her poor head to pound harder. Not sure how much more of this she could take, Morgan slowly, ever so slowly, moved to stand up only to decide that was a bad idea when she remembered what happened the last time she tried to become vertical and settled for turning around, shoving the shower curtain out of the way and crawling into the oversized shower stall.

Once she was there, Morgan blindly reached up, slapped at the tile that matched her bathroom in the townhouse next to this one until she found the faucet, turned it on, and promptly returned to the fetal position, praying that Eric took pity on her and left her alone so that she could die in peace. She felt herself begin to relax as the hot water slowly worked its way through the dress that was probably ruined now, closed her eyes, and-

Found herself groaning when Eric shoved the curtain open the rest of the way with a heavy sigh and asked the question that she’d been wondering since he’d decided to propose to the Wicked Bitch of the East, “What the hell was I thinking, Morgan?” 

“Can we talk about this later?” Morgan asked, regretting her decision to do those shots with Trevor, but at the time, she’d thought that they were a good idea.

“How do I keep fucking up my life?” Eric asked, ignoring her question.

“I really don’t think you want me to answer that,” Morgan mumbled as she reached over, grabbed the towel she’d abandoned on the bathroom floor and dragged it inside the shower and shoved it beneath her head.

“I’m done with women,” Eric said with a heavy sigh that had her cracking one eye open to glare at him because she’d heard this all before.

Since he didn’t actually want a response, Morgan closed her eyes again and tried not to think about how much she had to drink last night. She was never drinking again, Morgan decided as she listened to Eric ramble on about how badly he’d messed up because that’s what she did when the man that she’d been in love with her whole life needed to vent about another woman.

She listened.

She listened while he wondered why it didn’t work out this time.

She listened while he wondered why he couldn’t seem to fall in love with any of them.

She listened to all the things that she didn’t want to hear because he was her best friend, but this time, this time would be the last time.

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